A Dictionary of Cont..

ate 46
by disease or villainy, the phrase usually should
be avoided. The meaning of the phrase is
obvious but as a metaphor it is obscure.
Perhaps it owes its existence entirely to its
alliteration. At any rate, it is a phrase that
may well be left at oblivion’s door.
ate. See eat.
atJwJst. See aguostlc.
at long last. That the Duke of Windsor was able
to charge these words with such deep feeling
at the opening of his abdication radio speech
(Dec. 11, 1936) only shows that special circumstances
and passionate sincerity can infuse
meaning into any phrase, however hackneyed
in ordinary use. In the speech of most other
men, however, who have not had to endure
the prolonged ordeal of his extreme perplexity,
the phrase is a clichC and to be avoided. The
Duke’s very use of it makes it all the more to
be avoided since the echo of his use is in our
minds and makes its use with lesser provocation
all the more empty and stilted.
at one fell swoop. The phrase is taken from
Macduff’s cry in Macbeth (Act IV, Scene 3,
1. 218) when he is told that his wife and
children have been murdered at Macbeth’s
command: Did you say all/ 0 hell-kite! All?/
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/
At one fell swoop?
A kite is a hawk [the toy is named after the
hovering bird] that preys on rodents and
smaller, weaker birds. The phrase conveys not
only Macduff’s sense of the suddenness of the
murderous descent, of his wife and children’s
innocence and helplessness against the tyrant’s
attack, but also of his detestation of Macbeth,
for a kite is not one of the nobler falcons.
The word fell in the phrase mean:s fierce,
savage, cruel, and ruthless. It is akin not to
the past of fall but to felon and has connotations
of wickedness and bitter savagery. It is,
plainly, exactly the word that Macduff wanted
and, fortunately, Shakespeare was right there
to supply it for him.
But the phrase is now worn smooth of
meaning and feeling. Anyone who uses it deserves
to be required to explain publicly just
what he thinks it means.
at one’s wit’s end. The wit of this tired phrase
is the same as in scared out of his wits. It
means mind, not repartee.
atop. In literary English this word is used without
an object, as in from the fluted spine atop.
When an object is required, it is introduced by
of, as in the greensward atop of the clitf. These
constructions are over-literary and should be
avoided. In the United States, atop is used with
an object, as if it were a preposition, as in
he stood otop the house. This is not literary
English and not spoken English, but it seems
to be well established journalese.
atrocious; bad. The atrocious is that Iwhich is
characterized by savagery of exceptional violence
and brutality. It is something extraordinarily
wicked, exceptionally cruel.
Plainly this is one of the strongest terms of
disapprobation in the language and, equally
plainly, to use it as a mere synonym for bad
is to weaken it. Those who do so belong for
the most part to the fashionable world and
perhaps hope to imply, in the excess of the
word’s opprobrium, the excess of their own
sensitiveness and uerceutivitv. He that finds
a pun or a play “a&cio;s” &at another would
regard as only “bad” must have au exceptional
perception of badness. Or perhaps he’s just
a fool.
attached hereto; attached together. Attached hereto
is not only redundant but a little pompous.
Attached by itself does just as well. Attached
together is also redundant, since to attach
things is to join one to the other.
attain; accomplish. To attain is to reach, achieve,
or accomplish by continued effort (He attained
success. He attained maturity). Attain to
connotes an unusual effort or a lofty accomplishment
(He attained to greatness. He
attained to fame).
To accomplish is to carry out, perform, or
finish a distinct task (Mission accomplished.
One must accomplish much before one attains
success).
attempt. This word may be followed by an infinitive,
as in he attempted to lie, or by an
-ing form, as in he attempted lying. The infinitive
is more forceful and carries a stronger
sense of action than the -ing. But the two
forms are equally acceptable. See endeavor.
attend. See tend.
at the end of one’s tether. As a phrase signifying
the extreme limit of one’s resources or powers
of endurance, the cliche is plainly drawn from
the condition of a tethered animal. Dr. Charles
Funk believes that there has come into the
phrase a secondary, more sinister meaningthat
someone has reached the end of the hangman’s
rope. But whatever it means, it is a
worn phrase and should be used with care.
at the lirst blush. Blush in this old and worn
phrase means glance. That is the older meaning
of the word. We are told in fourteenthcentury
writings that King Arthur blushed on
a young knight, that a man in flight blushed
backwards towards the sea, that a King looking
through a window blushed on a beautiful
damsel, and so on. The meaning now attached
to the word, of a sudden reddening of the face
through modesty, is a later development. The
old meaning stays on in our vocabularies in
this one phrase only, like a fossil, and it seems
a pity to attempt to dislodge it, but the phrase
is a clichC and should be avoided in ordinary
speech.
attic. See garret.
attorney; lawyer. An attorney is one empowered
to act for another. Power of attorney can be
assigned to anyone; he does not have to be a
lawyer. It simply means that he is duly
appointed to act for another. A lawyer is one
who practices law and such a one is best
qualified to be an attorney at law. In America
the term attorney is almost synonymous with